Acoustical treated building structure



Dec. 18, 1962 .1.J. GRUBER lawn. 3,068,535

ACOUSTICAL TREATED BUILDING STRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 25.1958 1.11MB... nu

FIG.3A.

INVENTORS JOS EPH J.GR{JBER BY JOSEPH J. DSFALGO ATTORNEYS Dec. 18, 1962J. J. GRUBER ETAL 3,068,535

ACOUSTICAL TREATED BUILDING STRUCTURE Filed Aug. 25, 1958 2 Sheets-Smet2 INVENTORS Jost-:PH J. GRUBER BY JOSEPH `LneFALoo ATTORNEYS UnitedStates Patent 3,068,535 ACGUSTICAL TREATED BUILDING STRUC'IUR i JosephJ. Gruber, Depew, and Joseph J. De Falco, Bualo, N.Y., assignors toFenestra, Incorporated, Detroit,

Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed Aug. 25, 1953, Ser. No. 757,054Claims. (Cl. 20-4) The present invention relates to a buildingconstruction and in particular to structures formed with the use ofmetal building panels wherein the panels serve as a ceiling and asupport for a roof or a iioor of a structure and provide acousticaltreatment for the ceiling.

It is an object of the present invention to provide metal buildingpanels that serve as a ceiling and as a support for a roof or a floor ofa building structure, with the panels having cells, the walls of thecells forming tension members of the roof support wherein the walls arevperforated and sound absorbing elements are received in the cells toprovide acoustical treatment for the ceiling.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide mtealbuilding panels that serve as a ceiling and as a support for a roof or aoor of a building structure, with the panels having cells for thereception of sound absorbing elements wherein the elements arefabricated having a portion adapted to support the element from the open.endof the cell and serve as an impervious or non-impervious closure forthe open end.

It is another object to provide a series of formed units lwhich areinterengageable to provide a simplified panel construction.

It is still a further object to provide sound absorbing elements whichare formed to be self-supporting in the cells.

The foregoing as well as other objects will become more apparent as thisdescription proceeds, especially when considered in connection with theaccompanying drawings illustrating preferred embodiments of theinvention,

wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view partly in section and partly broken awayillustrating the metal panels forming the ceiling and roof of a buildingstructure;

FIG. 2 is a cross section taken through line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2A is a cross section similar to FIG. 2 of an embodiment which issupported along the joint between adjacent ends;

FIG. 3 is a modification of the structure shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 3A is a section showing an embodiment which is vsupported on thebottom of the channel along two edges;

FIG. 4 is another modication of the structure shown `in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective View of the sound absorbing element shown inFIG. 2;

FIG. 6-s a modification of the sound absorbing element of FIG. 5;

PIG. 7 is another modification of the sound absorbing `element of FIG.5;

FIG. 8 is still another modification of the sound absorbing element; and

FIG. 9 is a further modification of the sound absorbing element.

Referring now to the drawings, particularly FIGS. 1 and 2, there isillustrated generally at 20 an acoustically treated ceiling andV roofstructure. The struture is comprised of building panels 22 assembled inside by side relation. Each panel 22 has a flange portion 24 that servesas a compression member and webs 26 and 28. Ribs 25 serve to stiftenflanges 24. Web 26 is bent at right angles to form a tension flangeportion 30 that terminates in the channel-shaped female joint 32. Web

rice

28 is bent at right angles to form a tension ange portion 34 thatterminates in the upstanding portion 36 to form the male portion of thejoint. Flanges 30 and 34 lie in a plane that is parallel to and spacedfrom liange 24.

To form a ceiling and roof structure the panels are placed in side byside relationship with female joint 32 of one panel interlocked with themale joint portion 36 of the adjacent panel. The panels are of aconvenient length to span adjacent structural supports such as member 38and are welded thereto at 42. The panels can be secured to each other bywelding as at 40.

With the panels assembled the flanges 30 and 34 and webs 26 and 28 ofadjacent panels form a cell 44 into which sound absorbing element 50 isplaced. The U- shaped member formed by the iianges and webs also servesas a load bearing channel to help support the load carried by thestructure. The area formed by ange 24, and webs 26 and 28 of the panelforms a duct 46 opening to the interior of the structure that can beutilized by recessed lighting or other facilities if desired.

In FIG. 2A, a sound absorbing element 140 with a rounded, compressed end156 is shown placed in a cell 44 with end 156 resting on a joint 32 tooffer element support.

FIGURE 3 illustrates a modification of the building panel in which thecompression flange terminates in a downwardly extending portion 122 atone side edge and is bent at right angles at the opposite side edge toform the web 124. The tension ange 126 is in a plane parallel to flange120 and with webs 12.8 and 124 forms a cell 136. Flange 128 terminatesin the return bent portion 132 when the panels are assembled together inside by side relationship to form a ceiling and roof structure. Theportions 122 and 132 can be permanently fastened together by welding,crimping or any suitable manner.

The sound absorbing element 134 is similar to the elements laterdescribed and is received in the cell 136. Perforations 138 allow soundWaves to enter the cell to be absorbed by the element. Built up rooiing140 covers the structure. In FIG. 3A, element 160 has been placed incell 136 and is supported by rounded portions 180, 182 which are incontact with iiange 126. In FIG- URE 4, a recess 102 is formed in flange104 to accommodate a particular, later described insulating element.

To provide acoustical treatment to the ceiling', sound absorbing element50 is used. Element 50 can be fabricated from any sound absorbingmaterial such as mineral fibers, vegetable fibers or materials which arecapable of absorbing sound energy by virtue of cellular construction.Excellent results have been obtained by molding the element from glassfibers having a diameter of from .0001 to .0003 inch impregnated with asuitable thermosetting binder such as phenolic resin.

In fabricating the element, an elongated batt is laid up with the fibersrunning in a direction along the length of the batt and in parallellayers, with the layers having a horizontal orientation. As the batt isformed the fibers are lightly impregnated with phenolic resin with thebatt being formed having a density of approximately 1 pound per cubicfoot.

A mold is provided having a cross-sectional shape conforming to theiinal shape of the sound absorbing element. The element can be of anylength suitable for handling, shipping or fabricating convenience and isdetermined by the length of the mold.

With the two sections of the mold open, the batt, cut to conform to thelength of the mold, is placed in one element of the mold with the fibersrunning generally parallel with the face of the mold which will give themolded element resiliency in a transverse direction. The iibers have anorientation, the result of which places many iibers in parallelism. Thebatt is made to a width that will allow the ibers to be distributedacross the cross 'can vary in density throughout its cross section.

section of the mold in a manner to obtain the desired material densitythroughout the element.

When the mold is closed the batt is compressed into the shape of themold and by heating the fibers to a required temperature (approximately350 F.) the fibers will set and retain the shape of the mold afterremoving. inasmuch as the compression takes place initially andprimarily along the surfaces of the batt, the finished element is ofunequal density and the surface strata are somewhat compacted forming ashell-like surface providing extra strength. The strength of thematerial varies with the density of the fibers, the higher the densitythe stronger the material. The molded material is resilient and can becompressed in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the fibersand will return to its original shape.

The element 50 has a flat compressed surface 54 that terminates at eachside in the flange portions 56 and 58. Walls 60 and 62 extend at rightangles to the flange portions 56 and 58 to the points 64 and o6 Wherethey extend inwardly to form the walls 68 and 7b. rl`he sidewallsterminate in a rounded portion 72. The element can be fabricated invarious lengths. Lengths of from 4 feet to 8 feet are found suitable forconvenience in handling. The element is higher than it is wide therebyexposing a large area of sound absorbing material for a (given ceilingwidth.

The density of the material varies throughout the elelrnent with thematerial in flange portions S6 and 5S and adjacent the surface S4compressed to a greater density than the remainder of the element toobtain higher strength in these areas. The distance between walls 60 and62 of the element is slightly greater in dimension than that between thesurfaces 74 and 7 6 of adjacent panels 22 when the panels are assembledin side by side relationship to form the cell 44. When the element Silis inserted in the cell 44 the element will compress slightly due to theresiliency of the material and form a snug fit. Flange portions 56 and58 overlap the portions 24 of adjacent panels 22 and with surface 54 ofthe element form a closure for the cell 44.

anels 22 have perforations 7S through the surfaces 26, 23 and Si) of thepanel to allow sound waves to pass into the cell 44 to be absorbed bythe element 5G. The perforations can vary in size and spacing butperforations having a diameter of lds of an inch with staggered spacingof 2%4 of an inch giving approximately 1150 holes per square foot, givesexcellent acoustical results while still retaining the structuraladvantages of the metal.

:Due to the configuration of the element Sil the surfaces 63 7i? of theelement are spaced away from the surfaces 74 and '7o of webs 26 and 28that face toward the inside of cell 44 so that dirt or paint will notaccumulate in the perforations to block the entrance of sound waves ifthe element was directly against surfaces 74- and 76. it will be notedthat the Webs 26 and 28 are not perforated where the walls e@ and 62 ofthe element contact "the surfaces 74 and 76 of the cell. Perforationscan continue, however, for the entire height of the web if desired.

The element Si) may be molded to various shapes and it has been foundthat densities of from l pound per cubic foot to 5 pounds per cubic footgives excellent results in sound absorbing properties to the element.The supporting portions of the element Si), such as flanges 5d and 5S,are compressed to a density greater than the batt density which offersadequate structural support for the embodiment shown. xcellent resultshave been obtained by compressing the flanges to a density of about l2pounds per cubic foot.

After the element is in place in the cell a built-up roofing can beplaced over the structure 26, comprised of a layer of bitumen or felt S4rigid insulation 36 covered by bitumen or felt lt will be noted that byleaving the duct 4e open to the interior of the structure Zu and varyingthe depth of the cell 44, the acoustically treated area of the ceilingcan also be varied. ln this manner more sound absorbing area can beprovided for the ceiling than if the entire ceiling in one plane, forexample a plane through the bottom of the cell or flanges 3d and 34,were acoustically treated.

FIGURE 6 shows a modication of the sound absorbing element where a sheetof light gage metal 90 serves as a vapor barrier. The sheet of metal isattached to the el ent by an adhesive or other suitable means and ivo-enin place extends beyond the surfaces 94 and to form the flanges 9i; and105i. The element 92 is fabricated in the same manner and of the samematerials as for element A recess lt@ can be formed in the compressionflanges ltlli of the panels 106, as shown in FiG. 4, to accom nodate theflanges 98 and 100 and allow the top surface of sheet it@ to be tiushwith the top surfaces of aange l f. if desirable, caulking 108 can beapplied to insure greater moisture resistance. The panel is acousticallytreated in the same manner as panel 22.

rEhe sheet of metal 98 also serves as a support for the built-up rooflitt and as a closure for the cell 112.

The sheet can be fabricated from other impervious m terials and ifdesirable the surface 54 of the element 'l be treated 'with a filmforming material such as neoprene or the like to make the surfacevaport. Element can also be installed in panel 106 with the franges 55and 5; in recesses 1.62.

Another modification is shown in PEG. 7 in which the member serves as avapor barrier for the element The member can be fabricated from aplastic her vapor-resistant material and has a flat portion eturn bentat E24 and TLT/6 to encompass the flanges o and of element andterminates in portions 128 no lfi'. As the material of the element isresilient it will compress slightly where the portions 128 and 130against it to allow the assembly to fit into the cell 't te i anclstructure.

'the sound absorbing element illustrated in FIG. 8 is molded of the samematerials and in the same manner as previouslydescribed. Surfaces M2 and144 extend d from surface lo to the points 148 and 150. ces and entenddownward and inwardly to e they meet in the rounded portion 156. Wheninstalling in the cells of the ceiling roof structure,vthe element beinggreater in dimension between surfaces 142 and t then the width of theinner Walls of the cell will compress due to the resiliency of thematerial of the element giving the element a snug fit to hold it inplace in nhe surface can be flush with thertop surface of thecompression member of the roof structure. Portion is compressed todensity greater than the batt density so that the element Mtl may beplaced directly o a supporting ledge or joint as shown in FIG. 2A. Thison-; ression may be accomplished by placing a rod cenally of the battduring the molding operation to coms portion E56 against the mold. Adensity often imes the batt density has been found to give verysatisactors results.

9 illustrates another modification of the sound bsorbing element. Theelement lo@ has a flat cornpressed surface i162 that terminates inflange portions 164 and 66. Walls 163 and 170 extend at right angles toportions i645- and 166 to the points 172 and 174 where they extenddownwardly and inwardly to form the side walls i276 and 178. The wallsterminate in compressed rounded portions i8@ and 1&2 which haveproperties similar to those of portion 1156 in element 140. Walls and ldare slightly compressed and extend upwardly and inwardly to meet at therounded compressed portion 183 to form the open space Element 160 can befabricated in the same manner and of the same materials as Ivireviouslydescribed for element 50 and installed in the panel in the same way. Thebatt is placed over the width of a lower mold portion with rods or likemembers placed in compressive relation to portions 180, 182. The batt isdimensioned so that after walls of the mold have been lined with thebatt material, there is a remainder which is folded against itself andthen folded across the top. The top mold portion is then placed intoposition.

The open space 190 having the walls 184 and 186 provides additionalsurface area of acoustical absorbing material to increase the acousticalefficiency and by being slightly compressed, provides sufficientstructural rigidity even though walls 176, 178 are very spongy and soundabsorbent. Portion 188` is compressed and maintains walls 184, 186 intheir proper angular dispositions. Element 160 is supportable onportions 180, 182 as shown in FIG. 3A and provides increased soundabsorbing area. lf desired, more folds may be molded into the element tofurther increase its sound absorbing properties and further increase thenumber of supporting portions.

The drawings and the foregoing specification constitute a description ofthe improved acoustical treated building structure in such full, clear,concise and exact terms as toenable any person skilled in the art topractice the invention, the scope of which is indicated by the appendedclaims.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. Acoustical structure comprising an elongated upwardly open channelhaving a pair of perforated side l Walls, a formed body of soundabsorbing material in and substantially closing the open top of saidchannel, said body comprising loosely aggregated compressible fibrousmaterial connected by a binder to provide a form Sustaining body, saidbody being spaced lfrom at least the lower and intermediate portions ofsaid walls, said body having a compressed portion adjacent the plane ofthe open side to form overhanging flanges adapted to support the body insaid channel, and a plate having return lbends formed -along oppositesides thereof, said bends engageable with said overhanging flanges toenclose and support said flanges, each of said plate bends having alaterally extending member for engaging and supporting the body sidesadjacent said overhanging flanges.

2. Acoustical structure comprising an elongated formed body of soundabsorbing material, said body having a -base including a compressedportion forming overhanging flanges adapted to support said body, aplate having return bends yformed along opposite sides thereof, saidbends engageable with said overhanging flanges to enclose and supportsaid flanges, each of said plate bends having a laterally extendingmember for engaging and supporting the body adjacent said overhanginganges.

3. Acoustical structure comprising an elongated upwardly open channelhaving perforated side walls, a formed body of sound absorbing materialsupported in said channel, said body having a base including acompressed portion adjacent the open side of said channel formingoverhanging ilanges adapted to support said body, a plate having returnbends formed along opposite sides thereof, said bends engageable withsaid overhanging flanges to enclose and support said flanges, each ofsaid plate bends having a laterally extending member for engaging `andsupporting the body adjacent said overhanging flanges, a plurality ofsaid channels, each having said body of sound absorbing material placedtherein, aligned in horizontal spaced relation,

horizontal supporting members transversely aligned with the ends of saidchannels, said channels being attached at either end to said transversehorizontal supporting members with the open side of said channels facingupwardly, the spaced channel construction being formed by a series ofinverted L-shaped members having outward lateral extensions at theirOpen sides for engaging outward lateral extensions of similar memberswith said lateral extensions forming the bottom of said channel members.

4. Acoustical structure comprising an elongated upwardly open generallyrectangular structural channel having perforated side walls and anelongated formed body of sound absorbing material having a generallytriangular cross section within and supported by the structural channel,the base of the triangular cross section of the body extendingsubstantially entirely across the open top of the channel and in contactwith the sides of the channel at the top thereof, said sound absorbingmaterial being of greater density at the base of the triangular crosssection `and including flanges formed of the denser material whichextend transversely of the body at the base thereof to provide addedsupport for the body in assembly in the channel, the sides of the soundabsorbing body converging toward the bottom of the channel to an apex soas to be in progressively greater spaced relation to the perforatedsides of the channel from the base to the apex of the triangular crosssection.

5. Acoustical structure comprising an elongated upwardly open generallyrect-angular structural channel having perforated side walls and anelongated formed body of sound absorbing material supported by thestructural channel and having sides converging toward the bottom of thestructural channel, the top of the elongated formed body extendingsubstantially entirely across the open top of the channel and in contactwith the sides of the channel ,at the top thereof, said sound absorbingmaterial being References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATESPATENTS 1,465,452 Mathemy Aug. 21, 1923 1,833,174 Norris NOV. 24, 19311,894,592 Kilmer Ian. 17, 1933 1,901,999 Upson Mar. 21, 1933 1,921,518lFrobisher Aug. 8, 1933 1,987,537 Oehrlein Jan. 8, 1935 1,998,422 McNeilApu'. 16, 1935 2,001,733 Kellogg May 21, 1935 2,007,374 Kuehne July 9,1935 2,128,549 Zier Aug. 30, 1938 2,388,968 Hedgren Nov. 13, 19452,655,348 Siering Oct. 13, 1953 2,706,314 Siering Apr. 19, 19552,730,942 Peterson Jan. 17, 1956 2,924,857 Gruber Feb. 16, 1960

